Beach
by Mairusu-chan
Summary: It was like a heavy burden was lifted off my chest. As I thought back about it, I realized that I was rather stupid to think that Seph would think it a bad idea. It had been bugging me all day for nothing. [AU, OneShot. SephxCloud fluff]


I stared at the sun shinning through the window. It gave a warm glow, illuminating everything in the apartment with a yellow orange hue; it was beautiful. I rested my head on my arms, enjoying the sight from my spot at the window seat. I smiled contently and closed my eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. Seph groaned in the other room. I turned, opening my eyes, and spotted my camera on the coffee table. A grin quickly formed as I picked the camera up on my way back to our bedroom. I almost dropped the poor thing when I got there.

Everything just seemed to be picture perfect today. Sephiroth lay mangled in the cotton sheets; face content. The sun shone dully through the blinds, making lines of light dance through the room. Seph's hair fell over his face gently and off the side of the bed; smooth like water. He was lying on his side towards me, and I could almost imagine what he'd look like when he woke up... Eyes half-lidded and innocently seductive, a faint smirk on his face… It just all looked so... virtuous.

I smiled and took three quick pictures before I sat my camera down to start breakfast. Seph would probably wake up in fifteen minutes.

I rubbed my eyes and started on the deed at hand. Today was our day off. We had planned this day together a long time ago, making sure nothing would interfere. Today had to be perfect. Today would be perfect. It had to be since we probably wouldn't get another chance to talk too much for another few months. Winter was ending, which meant more parties, weddings, and anything worth a professional photographers' time. I wouldn't be home much then, leaving Seph alone. I don't know how he gets along without me, but I sure miss him as all hell. Business trips sucked. Unfortunately, if I wasn't away, Seph was. Our schedules were so different, and it always seemed that when we could finally be together for at least a few hours, something comes up and one of us leaves. It's sad really.

I grabbed some things for breakfast, pulling whatever I could together without a thought. It always seemed that whenever I just threw things together Seph loved it. Good thing I'm such a good cook then. After I made pancakes I got so caught up in trying to make omelets that I didn't even hear Seph wake up.

"Raspberries?"

I jumped, turning around. "You like them right?" I had put them in little bowls for the both of us; they were already sitting on the table. I turned back to the stove, cracking another egg. When he didn't say anything, I looked up. "Something wrong?"

Seph didn't bother with a verbal response right then. Instead, he came up behind me, wrapping his arms around me and resting his head on my shoulder. "Good morning. I love them. No, nothing's wrong."

I smiled and pressed slightly away from him. I turned the stove off and slid an omelet onto a plate. "Good. Coffee?"

Seph nodded and let me go, taking the omelet with him as I went over to find some mugs. I heard him setting the plate down and walking back down the hall just as I found two giant mugs. We like coffee.

Seph was back just as I poured coffee into the mugs and sat them with the food, which consisted of some pancakes, toast, the raspberries, and omelets. He sat down first and I sat across from him, messing with the food I made. "Not hungry?" I nodded, picking at a pancake. "Then don't eat." I shook my head. "Then eat." I shrugged. I heard Seph give a mild snort while I was busy trying to cut the food into tiny pieces with my fork. It wasn't working. I grabbed for my mug and took a sip. The coffee was strong. Seph had finished his breakfast. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

I shook my head again. "No." I heard him stand, and then his arms were around my waist again, his chin in my hair.

"You sure you don't want to talk? Something's on your mind."

I shrugged to an extent and dropped my head saying, "I just haven't been sleeping lately. That's all."

"Business getting to you?"

"Mm."

Seph chuckled at my statement, kissed my head, and let me go. I heard him walking away. "Eat."

My frowned deepened, and I glanced at my used-to-be breakfast. "I'm not hungry." He gave me a look, and I pouted slightly. "No really, I don't want it." Seph shook his head.

"Fine, fine. Shower?"

"Dishes." I stood and took our plates and cups, scrapping mine in the trash. Seph followed to help me. The sink filled up quickly as I added the soap. Seph dropped the dishes in; we looked at each other. "Why don't we get a dishwasher?"

Seph looked at me, but I couldn't decipher it before he smiled and said, "Because, we don't need one."

I pouted slightly. "Yes we do."

"So you don't like washing the dishes then?"

I couldn't say anything to that. I did like washing the dishes…I always got them cleaner. I turned back to the sink, stopped the water, grabbed a washcloth, and started washing. I could feel Seph smirking at me, so I didn't turn back to him as I rinsed off the cleaned mug and sat it on the dish rack. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Seph grab it, dry it off, and then put it away. We didn't speak while I washed, but as soon as we were done I followed Seph to the bathroom.

In the doorway, he stopped and turned back to me. "Are you sure there's nothing you want to talk about?" I looked at me feet, shaking my head slightly.

"No."

Seph moved, so I walked past him, starting the water before he could. Once it was steamy, we both undressed and stepped in. The water felt great. I closed my eyes and let in run down my body for a while before I turned to Seph. He smiled at me, and I gave a small grin grabbing the nearest bottle of shampoo. I got my vanilla sugar body wash instead. I stared at it for a minute, then turned and looked for my shampoo. I found it instantly by the way to bottle looked, and Seph wrapped an arm around me.

"Don't tell me I get to use your shampoo."

"Yup." I poured it into my hands, backing into Seph so I could reach his head. I lathered it in his hair and we had to turn about so I could get the rest of it. "Your hair's too long."

"You want me to cut it?"

I heard a hint of humor in his voice. "No."

Nothing much really happened after that. Seph washed my hair while I washed him, and then he washed me. I guess we're not very sexual today.

"So Cloud, what do you want to do today, since we have the whole day to ourselves?"

I smiled faintly and ignored him completely, turning to brush my teeth. He left me then to get dressed, and I actually thought about what I really wanted to do today. I guess I didn't plan that far ahead. I got a sudden idea and finished brushing my teeth quickly. Seph wasn't dressed, too busy trying to dry his hair. I walked past and grabbed the first thing out of my closet.

Me and Seph are really different in what we wear. He actually looks through his closet for something, while I just pick out what I see first. Most of his clothes are formal, or a mix of formal casual. Mine are pretty much the same, though the formal casual weighs out just about everything else.

I eyed what I picked and found that they didn't match too well. I sighed and went to the closet again trying to find something to match brown pants; where I got them, the world may never know. I found a forest green turtle neck and threw it on top of my pants, then looked for shoes. With a black pair of low boots in hand I started to dress.

Seph was in the room soon enough, a towel just barely around his waist. I didn't bother to look up, to engrossed in my own task of well…multitasking. Drying your hair and trying to put on a pair of boxers was hard. It took me a few more minutes than usual to dress myself, but I did get it done. I glanced to Seph. He was wearing a plain white button up shirt and black pants. I almost sighed.

"What?"

I didn't say anything, but smiled brightly grabbing his hand in mine. "I know where I want to go." Seph gave me a questioning look that I didn't succumb to. I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek instead. "You'll see." I didn't look back and led him back to the kitchen, picking up the keys from the counter and letting Seph's hand go, finding my way to the closet to grab a coat. I sifted through it a while, and spotted my brown corduroy fleece and Seph's black wool one. I threw it to him accompanied with a long scarlet scarf I had gotten him two Christmas's ago. I smiled at him. "You need some color in your wardrobe."

Seph lifted and eyebrow and almost, almost smirked. "A little more white couldn't hurt you either Cloud." I watched him shoulder on the coat and wrap the scarf around his neck.

I shut the closet door and turned. Yeah, whatever. I never really liked the color white. White was too…white. Don't get me wrong there are white shirts that I own…well, one would be more accurate. I too put on my coat and walked towards to door. Oh, I forgot. I looked over my shoulder. "Seph, grab my camera would you?" He complied, picking one of my many off the coffee table. "Thanks."

We left our apartment in silence. Taking the elevator down, I grabbed my camera from Seph and checked it's battery before shouldering it. Outside was when I realized, much to my horror, that my hair was still wet. "Seph!" I shrieked, trying to bury my head in his coat. "Still wet!" I whined. My immediate thought was to run back into the complex for a hat, but Seph had other ideas. He took off his scarf, and craftily wrapped it around my head.

"There, all better." He said. I pouted. Seph patted my head and smiled, starting to walk away. "You look cute." He called over his shoulder. I kept pouting and pulled the scarf off my head. I'd rather catch pneumonia. I ran to catch up, and threw Seph's scarf at him. He caught it easily, and frowned slightly at me. "You want to be sick?"

I shrugged, looking forward now. "I'll risk it." I ran ahead then, only stopping at the bus stop to see when the next bus arrived. Seph caught up quickly. "What time is it?" I asked, still examining the chart.

"About eight."

I nodded almost to myself. "We have like…twenty more minutes." I sighed, seating myself on the bench Seph sat beside me, his hands in his pockets. I looked at him and he looked back but said nothing. Finally I said, "Guess where I'm taking you?"

Seph seemed to think hard about it, his eyebrows coming together in thought. I could almost see his brain working, but it only lasted a second. "The beach." It was a statement.

I recoiled, completely shocked. "How did you know!"

Seph laughed at me, but I didn't feel any better. "Come on Cloud, do you think I'm dense?" He wrapped an arm around me, bringing me close. "It sounds a lot like you."

I sighed, looking down. He could of at least played along. A gust of wind passed and I remembered how cold my poor head was. I looked at Seph pleadingly. "Can we get hot chocolate?" I gave a soft pout for extra affect, and saw Seph immediately crack. Or maybe it was my imagination. I smiled, excited, and gave him a kiss before jumping up, taking Seph's hand again and leading him down the sidewalk. There were many cafés, but I had a special one in mind. Seph took me to it once, on one other day off we had a while ago, and I had vowed to take him back, or make him take me back, whichever came first.

It was a little café seated just on the corner a few blocks down. The streets were surprisingly empty for a Saturday morning, and for that I was thankful. It made out trip a little more…intimate. Seph's hand tightened as we darted across the street. Crosswalks were for whimps. I smiled apologetically, because I knew Seph hated when I did that, but he didn't seem to be too angry with me. A slight frown was on his face, but nothing more. "Sorry." I apologized anyway.

We made it to the café with no more life risking stunts. I could almost hear Seph's sigh of relief. I smiled, admiring that simple outside décor of the place. Dark green rimmed windows with dark wood sidings. The Christmas lights were still draped on the windows, making cute little displays of twinkling lights. I almost felt in the Christmas spirit again.

I turned to Seph. "Pose for me?" He looked at me coolly; I could see the despise for me in his eyes, but Seph walked in front of me, leaning against the building anyway. I took a few quick pictures before smiling again and walking through the door. A bell announced our presence cheerily.

Seph had grabbed my hand again. "Where are we sitting?" I shrugged, deciding to let Seph pick. We walked off to the left, grabbing a booth by the window. They were green too, like outside. Everything had a stained cherry finish which I loved. We sat opposite each other, and as I made myself comfortable a waitress came to take our orders.

"What would you like Cloud, Sephiroth?" That caught my attention. I looked up at the waitress, instantly taking notice of her short black hair and headband.

"Yuffie!" I smiled. "I didn't know you worked here!"

"There's a lot you don't know about me Cloud." She grinned. "Now, what would you like?"

I was still shocked to see Yuffie in any kind of uniform and working as a waitress, so Seph ordered for us. She didn't seem to mind, and neither did Seph. I looked out the window, watching the few cars pass by. Suddenly I thought of something. "Seph," I said, not yet looking at him. "We should buy a house." I turned to look at him then. Seph was looking rather surprised.

"What brought this on?"

I shrugged as I looked down at my lap. My hands were clasping and unclasping slowly. "I don't know…I just think it would be…nice is all."

"Cloud…."

"I know! It doesn't have to be now…" I stopped. I was getting close to have nothing to say. "It doesn't even have to be soon…maybe in a few years. I don't mind. But, I want something that feels a lot more like home. Something just for us." I hadn't look up yet, but when I did, Seph was opening his mouth.

"Hot chocolate with whipped cream for the two boys!" Yuffie exclaimed, smiling widely. Seph's mouth had ultimately closed.

I thanked Yuffie as she left, cupping my cold hands around the hot cup and taking a sip. It was really hot. Seph once again looked like he was going to say something, but I thought I caught a look of disapproval in his eyes. "You know what," I interrupted, "never mind. Heh, forget it." I grinned, looking out the window again. "Holy crap, there goes the bus!" I almost jumped out of my seat. I turned to Seph sadly. "We missed the bus…." I whined. My mood deflated dramatically. I sulked in my seat for a good five minutes when suddenly I had another idea.

"We might be able to make the other bus if we run." Seph said offhandedly, taking a long sip of his drink. All the whipped cream was gone.

My eyes widened. "I was about to say that!"

Seph smiled, setting his cup down and checking his watch. "We have five minutes." He pulled out his wallet, leaving a bill on the table fore out drinks and Yuffie's tip. I had hopped up and grabbed Seph's hand, quickly leading him out the café and back into the cold. I shivered, but started to run. I was not missing this bus. "Cloud, slow down!" Seph called after me. I had lost his hand when I started running.

"Hurry up Seph!" I called back, glancing back to see how far away he was. Suddenly, he looked shocked. I turned to see what it was, just in time to see a pair of headlights coming towards me.

I tried to open my eyes. Every muscle in my body was screaming. "Cloud?" It was Seph. He sounded almost terrified. I wanted to ask what was wrong, why was I in pain, what happened, but I couldn't find the strength to move my mouth. I just barely got my eyes open. I was looking up at the sky, and Seph looking down at me. "Cloud, don't close your eyes okay?"

Just barely, I found my voice. "What?" was all I could muster. Then I noticed the car sitting on the sidewalk and out of the corner of my eye, blood. Lots of blood. I felt sick, really sick. I wanted to throw up. I felt my stomach lurch, but nothing came out of it.

"Cloud, just stay with me okay?" Seph was talking softly now. My vision was starting to get blurry around the edges. My body temperature must have dropped because I started to shiver terribly.

"Seph…cold." Talking hurt, and my voice was really raspy. Then I heard the ambulance sirens off in the distance. I smiled faintly. Seph was rubbing his hands over mine, trying to keep them warm. He stopped, slowly, and looked at me and smiled.

"I wanted to tell you, that buying a house would be a great idea."

I couldn't explain how happy I was at that moment. I forgot about how bad I felt, and that I was probably bleeding to death. It was like a heavy burden was lifted off my chest. As I thought back about it, I realized that I was rather stupid to think that Seph would think it a bad idea. It had been bugging me all day for nothing. I would've laughed. And as I saw that ambulance truck coming up the street, and Seph's look of relief, I smiled. "Thanks. That makes me…feel better." I said, my voice a little louder than before. Seph smiled and I smiled back. "You have no idea how much I love you."

"I love you too." Seph had gone back to rubbing my hands. I was suddenly grounded and in pain again as I found my body began to shiver again, but I was content as I closed my eyes.

"I love you so much."


End file.
